Frenchman shot dead in Yemeni capital - sources

* Yemeni army in major offensive against al Qaeda in south (Adds details)

By Mohammed Ghobari

SANAA, May 5 (Reuters) - Gunmen shot dead a Frenchman working for the EU mission in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Monday, government and security sources said, as the army waged an offensive against al Qaeda in the south of the country.

Westerners have frequently been attacked in Yemen, an impoverished U.S.-allied country fighting Islamist militancy, southern secessionists, tribal conflicts and a Shi'ite Muslim rebellion in the north.

Yemen's Interior Ministry confirmed Monday's attack, but said only that a "foreigner" had been killed and two other people wounded in the shooting.

A spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said the EU confirmed there had been "a security incident in Sanaa involving contractors working for the EU delegation".

The Yemeni security sources said the unidentified gunmen, who had been driving a four-by-four car without licence plates, blocked the diplomatic vehicle in which the Frenchman was travelling in the centre of Sanaa and opened fire.

The two wounded people were identified as a Frenchman and a Yemeni. No further details were immediately available on them or on their condition.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Monday's attack.

Last month a German diplomat was wounded during an apparent kidnapping attempt by unidentified gunmen.

FRANCE IS TARGET

Yemen is home to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which authorities have blamed for a string of attacks on security forces and foreigners in the country of 25 million people, which shares a long border with the world's top oil exporter, Saudi Arabia.

Last week the Yemeni army launched an offensive to drive al Qaeda and its allies out of their strongholds in two southern provinces. That came after a series of air strikes, believed led by U.S. drones, that killed some 65 militants last month.

Yemen, under President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, is trying to overcome nearly three years of political turmoil which began when protests erupted in 2011 against President Ali Abdullah Saleh's 33 years in office. He has since stepped down.

In April 2013, a gunman fired shots outside France's embassy in Yemen, prompting local authorities to reinforce security around the mission. Since France ousted Islamist militants from Mali last year, groups linked to them have vowed to target French interests overseas.

Last summer several western embassies, including the American, British and French, closed their embassies in Yemen after a U.S. warning of a possible militant attack in the region. (Additional reporting by John Irish in Paris and Justyna Pawlak in Brussels; writing by Yara Bayoumy and Rania El Gamal; editing by Sami Aboudi and Andrew Roche)

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